Threshold – Monochrome

December 3, 2022December 3, 2022 — Photography, Travel — 2 min read

Here we have a tulip flower that is opening up with the dawn of the morning light.

Faith and hope are just that … believing in the things not seen, and acting as if it’s going to be.

Much of our experiences and struggles can leave us with a scar, as like an injury on our hand so to speak.

Yet the thing about scars is that even though they may not go away, they do heal. As time goes on, and the scar keeps healing, sooner or later it can become not as noticeable … or be a reminder of perseverance.

Sometimes scars can be from relationships, our lives can be shattered, like a vase that falls off the table and breaks into many small pieces.

The good news is, that with time and healing in putting the vase back together, piece after piece, it may not look the same but can become instead a beautiful mosaic.

This is where threshold comes in. Each experience we have comes with it the doorway to a new day, a new era, a way to look at the past more intelligently for the future.

… A life filled with hope.

Winter Sunrise Silhouetted Pines

November 29, 2022November 29, 2022 — Personal, Photography, Travel — 1 min read

*Winter sky that indicates a snowy day in my Midwest hometown in Illinois – USA. Photo: ‘Winter Sunrise Through Silhouetted Pines‘ – Copyright 2021 Frank J Casella.*

Chicago Blizzard – Holga

November 21, 2022November 21, 2022 — Family, Health & Fitness, Personal, Photography, Travel — 1 min read

A person walks down the street during a blizzard with low visibility in a Chicagoland neighborhood. Kind of like the journey of life, unless we seek God’s will to depend on Him to show us the way. Photo: ‘Chicago Blizzard’ – Holga Effect – Black and White Documentary Photograph – Copyright 2012 Frank J Casella All Rights Reserved.

Being Committed

November 18, 2022November 18, 2022 — Health & Fitness, Personal, Photography, Productivity — 2 min read

*Photo: ‘Autumn Wetlands‘ Copyright 2019 Frank J Casella.*

The key to vision is being committed to it. But many do you find have a hard time with this?

The path to a full life, and reaching your goals, is to be committed to it. There is no vision without being committed to it. We might find road blocks in the way, or things that change our direction a bit, and without being committed to it we just give up before we reach our goal.

Henry Ford comes to mind, how he said something like “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently” as well as “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do” and “Vision without execution is just hallucination.”

One of the most difficult forms of being committed for me is with online platforms, as technology changes very fast. Even if you have your own website or blog, the host can change the business plan and you have to move with the changes, or change the host.

There is also being committed to a relationship, as in marriage, as over the years spouses change and you have to learn to move with it in love. The key to a long marriage is to stay married, forgiveness, and then give each other space.

I thought about this topic for today because there are a number of projects I’m working on in life, and with my pictures. And as we prepare to close out 2022 I’m reflecting on what I learned from them in the past 11 months, and how I want to approach them for the next year.

“When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there.”
— Zig Ziglar

Hope. Belief. Faith. Victory!

November 11, 2022November 11, 2022 — Family, Health & Fitness, Personal, Photography, Productivity — 1 min read

Chicago Morning Commute

November 3, 2022 — Family, Health & Fitness, Photography, Productivity — 1 min read

Trick or Treat Trail

October 31, 2022 — Family, Personal, Photography — 1 min read

Shadows and Trees Landscape

October 23, 2022October 23, 2022 — Photography, Productivity, Travel — 1 min read

Photo: ‘*Shadow and Trees Landscape‘ – Copyright 2018 Frank J Casella*

God makes trees as individual as He does people. No two trees are the same.

Look up close at their details.

The shadows created by the Light, are like the beauty that we leave on the world through Him.

This to me is the landscape of humanity.

Golden Hour Reflections

October 21, 2022October 21, 2022 — Family, Health & Fitness, Personal, Photography — 1 min read

When I look at this scene, I reflect about all the people behind those windows, and all the people who built these buildings over the years.

Yes, it all looks perfect on the outside, but it’s what’s inside that counts and makes all the difference. Like when I create a picture, I’m critical but mindful that perfection can lead to procrastination.

How about you?

What really is important, I think, is to be mindful and reflect that what we create will still be around after we are dead and gone. So, remember that what goes on inside of us is the here and now, and this we must keep in perspective.

Enjoy your day.

Morning Sunlight Architecture

October 16, 2022October 17, 2022 — Photography — 1 min read

All of us are different, yet together.

What struck me about this view of Chicago architecture was the Illumination from the morning sunlight. Then what came into view is how these structures are from decades apart of each other.

Though each of these are different, they blend together with such beauty, especially when enveloped by the sun and shadows.

Much as in life, and in living our faith, all of us are different, yet together we can do great things that create beauty in this world… such as these buildings… especially when enveloped in faith in this love of the Lord Jesus.

In a similar way, as beauty from the morning light brings promise to prepare for the coming of the new day ahead, so too must we live our faith looking for signs in preparation for the beauty of the coming of the Lord.

Enjoy your day.